ONE
JULIE LEANED JUST FAR ENOUGH out of Eric’s arms to snag her vibrating phone from the coffee table. A glance at the screen confirmed her suspicion and with reluctance she sat up, immediately missing the warmth of Eric’s long, strong body along her back. He let her go but kept his hand on her thigh as she slid her thumb across the screen.
“Hey Caleb.” She’d been putting off talking to her brother since the mess with the kidnapping. He’d sent a dozen texts the day before, trying to get her to see him. So far she’d been successful at avoiding him. She didn’t know what his real involvement had been with Balducci, but she was sure he knew much more than he let on. She was also fairly certain Balducci hadn’t hurt him. He’d refused medical attention at the scene which in and of itself wasn’t damning. But combined with the way he looked when they’d been thrown together and how he’d reacted to her hug, she had serious doubts about how much of a prisoner he’d actually been.
The one thing she was absolutely sure of was she did not want him anywhere near Eric. She’d come so close to losing everything and to costing him everything. She wouldn’t take that kind of chance ever again.
“Nice of you to finally answer,” said Caleb.
The whine in his voice was so familiar and at the same time it was like hearing him for the first time. She’d always known he was a brat, but she hadn’t seen or let herself see exactly how far his selfishness extended
“I know you didn’t call to bitch at me.” Behind her, she felt Eric straighten, his hand tightening on her thigh.
“No wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I’ve just been worried about you.”
Julie held the phone and listened to her brother backpedal. Even without seeing him, or maybe because she wasn’t distracted by the face she’d grown up with, she could tell he was still working an angle.
“I saw you yesterday – the abandoned warehouse, remember? You knew I left with Eric. You watched him carry me out.”
“Okay, so maybe I thought you might want to be sure I was okay.”
He sounded hurt, and she paused for a moment, taking inventory of her own feelings. Maybe she should feel bad, but she didn’t.
“I knew you were okay. Jackson made sure you got home didn’t he? And his men have been keeping an eye on you ever since.” She hated that Eric was going through the extra expense of having her brother watched but neither of them would be able to relax until Balducci was completely out of the picture. He and Jackson insisted watching Caleb was one of their best chances to find the men who’d taken her. And there was the added bonus of keeping tabs on her brother.
“Oh,” said Caleb, suddenly wary. “I didn’t know that. Thanks,” he added as an afterthought without actually sounding grateful. “So I was thinking we should get together and figure out what to do next. Without the Smithfield account Blake Enterprises is going to be in trouble. Hell, you’ve seen the books. It’s already in trouble. I thought we could get together at Comme Ci and work on triage.”
He didn’t have to say it. Julie knew his idea of triage meant her asking Eric for a big fat influx of cash. Caleb knew good and well that if she wasn’t sleeping with Eric, neither of them would be eating at his world famous restaurant. With the way her brother raided cash from his business, they couldn’t afford it.
“I’m not coming back to Blake Enterprises, Caleb. You’re going to have to figure out what you want to do next without me.”
As soon as she said the words out loud, it felt like a huge weight fell off her shoulders. She had no idea what she’d do for a job, but thanks to Eric, she hadn’t given her savings to the kidnappers so she could live on that until she sorted things out. She still had to figure out how to pay him back for the hundred grand he’d paid to ransom her brother. He insisted he didn’t want the money, but she couldn’t let him pay for her mistake or Caleb’s stupidity. She could, however, accept that he wouldn’t care if it took her a little while to come up with the money. For the first time in her adult life she was going to get to decide what she wanted to do and not make her choice based on some kind of misplaced sense of obligation.
“Listen,” she said, trying to soften her response. “It was only ever supposed to be temporary. We both knew it wasn’t really what I wanted to do.”
“Fuck, Julie!”
She flinched and behind her Eric sat up, curling his body protectively around her. She looked over her shoulder, offering him a smile. He nuzzled her neck, brushing a kiss over the sensitive skin behind her ear and strengthening her resolve to get off the phone as fast as possible.
“I can’t believe you. You found a rich man to fuck and now you’re just going to leave me out here to hang by myself.”
Julie felt Eric go rigid and embarrassment that he’d heard her brother’s ugly words had her face flushing.
“You made the rope, Caleb, not me. Until you’re willing to face that, we’re done.”
“We’re family. You do not get to fucking dismiss me like this.”
“That’s enough,” said Eric, taking the phone from her hand. “Don’t ever speak to your sister like that again. Not ever. Until you can show her the respect she deserves don’t bother calling.”
Julie heard stuttering and what sounded like mumbled excuses but before she could make out any actual words, Eric ended the call and tossed the phone aside.
“I’m sorry, cher. I know he’s your family, but I’m not going to let anyone talk to you like that.”
He pulled her into his arms, and she settled the back of her head against his chest. Part of her knew she should be angry that he’d taken over again, but the larger part of her was relieved to have someone looking out for her for a change. For so many years she’d taken care of everyone around her – her father and then Caleb – pushing aside what she wanted for them. She thought that’s what it meant to love someone.
Everything was different with Eric. Instead of wearing her out and sapping her energy, loving him and being loved by him made her stronger. The realization had her blinking back tears.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, tipping her face up to his. “I hate that you have to deal with any of this.”
